Bill C-45: Kills Innovation & Perpetuates Social Harm

November 7th, 2017 – Don Davies is incensed by Trudeau’s plan for legalization, and rightly so. A Member of Parliament from Vancouver, Davies’ recent critique in the house of commons provides a clear-eyed articulation of just how very wrong the Liberal government has got cannabis legalization.

Davies says Bill C-45 is not based on evidence or science but on propaganda era characterizations that deliver many harms including: perpetuation of criminalization on the most marginalized Canadians, stifling state control, perpetuation of harmful myths and stigmas, prohibitions of products customers want and critically, killing the potential innovation that could drive Canada’s economy as the estimated $1.5 Trillion global cannabis market emerges.

In this video, Davies paints in living colour, the very real social and economic harms Trudeau’s cannabis strategy will deliver. Under the guise of protecting children and eliminating the black market, Bill C-45 was drafted for the 85% of Canadians with have no real understanding of cannabis, save for what they know from 70 years of war on drugs propaganda. All this for a substance far less harmful than alcohol or tobacco. As a result, many of Canada’s true cannabis pioneers see Trudeau’s Bill C-45 as nothing more than a strategy that cloaksa virtual land grab by political insiders, reminiscent of Canada’s disgraceful treatment of indigenous peoples. As horrific as this historical comparison might be, Don Davies’ message serves as a warning that the coming harms from Bill C-45 could both socially and economically be just as far reaching and reverberate for the next hundred and fifty years. Watch the video: